How do migrants make sense of their political rights in home countries despite their lack of residence, and how do these interpretations shape transnational electoral participation and mobilization? This paper compares Turkish migrants in Berlin and Toronto to explain participation, party support, and perceptions of voting rights in transnational elections. Drawing on 60 in-depth interviews with voters, party officials, and migrant associations, the study demonstrates that Turkey’s polarized politics manifest differently across migration contexts, producing distinct articulations of stakes and claims for political legitimacy. In Berlin, where electoral support among the large Turkish emigrant population is almost evenly split between pro-government and opposition supporters, polarization is reproduced through intergenerational divides. In Toronto, in a smaller and ideologically homogenous emigrant community, tensions materialize through migrant status, namely among asylum seekers and economic migrants. Across both contexts, ethnic and sectarian differences crosscut and often exacerbate these divides. Using the framework of stakeholder citizenship, I show that external voting becomes a site where migrants negotiate rights, responsibilities and political belonging vis-à-vis others in both home and host societies, including residents of Turkey, fellow emigrants, and other migrant groups in the host society. This paper contributes to research on transnational politics by bridging normative debates on citizenship and legitimacy with empirical findings on diaspora mobilization and political engagement across borders.